Studying the Consistency of the Demonstration of the Disjunction “al-Fasl” and Conjunction “al-Wasl” with the Peripatetic Philosophy “Hikmat Mashā'”

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 A PhD student of Hikmat al-mut'āliyyah

2 Associate professor at University of Tehran

Abstract

Among the various opinions about the motion (harakat) from denial to absolute approval, the persistent step and reasonable is the opinion of potentiality (quwwa) and actuality (fi'l) of Aristotle. He believes that the prime matter is also substance (jawhar) which it only contains potential and beside bodily substance forms body' (jism). The Islamic philosophy has expressed some proofs for this issue. Sometimes, these evidences have been severely criticized that it has caused the denial of the thought of potentiality. Meanwhile defending and differentiating between the consistency of the thought of Aristotelian quwwa and the peripatetic philosophy (mashā' hikmat) and with studying the critiques on the demonstration of the disjunction “al-fasl” and conjunction “al-wasl”, this note attempts to show its high capacity for accepting the Sadrian's editing among the proofs for proving matter (hayula). The importance of the issue is for stabilizing the position of the peripatetic philosophy (mashā' hikmat) in one of the most important philosophical doctrines meaning potentiality (quwwa) and actuality (fi'l) that from one side, it is a ground for interpretation of the realm of the substantial motion (al-harakat al-jawhariyya; also translated as transubstantiation or trans-substantial motion) and from the other side, it is influential in the philosophical interpretation of some religious teachings which are related to human's everlasting fortune like intermediate (barzakh) perfection.

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